The Andhra Pradesh government is studying whether to restrict or ban social media use for children under the age of 16, with the state’s IT and Education Minister Nara Lokesh confirming that Andhra Pradesh is examining Australia’s new under-16 social media law.
Speaking to Bloomberg on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Switzerland’s Davos, Lokesh said, “As a state, we are studying Australia’s under-16 law, and, I believe, we need to create a strong legal enactment.” He added, “Youngsters below a certain age should not be on such platforms, as they do not fully understand the content they are exposed to.”
Following these remarks, the Andhra Pradesh government constituted a Group of Ministers (GoM) to examine whether it should restrict or prohibit minors’ access to social media platforms. Lokesh heads the panel, which includes Home Minister Vangalapudi Anitha, Health Minister Satya Kumar Yadav, and Information and Public Relations Minister K Parda Sarathi.
According to the state government, the GoM will study existing Indian laws and international models, including Australia’s legislation, and submit recommendations within a month. The government originally set up the panel to address online abuse against women and the spread of misinformation, but it has now expanded the panel’s mandate to include children’s access to social media.
The move comes amid growing judicial scrutiny. In December last year, the Madras High Court (HC) called on the Centre to explore Australia-like legislation banning social media access for children under 16 and instructed authorities to step up awareness campaigns on online harms and parental controls.
More for social media platforms to do?
Andhra Pradesh’s Home Minister Anitha said the government is exploring “either a ban or restriction” and is focused on identifying practical ways to regulate access. Referring to current platform practices, she noted that most social media companies rely on self-declared age information. “What we feel is these social media platforms should ask the user to upload age proof documents so that their authenticity is verified,” she said.
The government has also acknowledged limits to enforcement. IT Secretary Katamaneni Bhaskar said a complete ban may not be feasible due to technological workarounds, and instead pointed to options that focus on limiting access to age-inappropriate content rather than blocking platforms entirely.
Parents and digital policy experts’ concerns
Notably, the GoM will prepare its report after consulting Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and will later share it with the Central Government. However, the prospect of a social media ban has drawn mixed reactions.
For context, parents have warned that an outright ban could be counterproductive, pushing children to access platforms without supervision. Meanwhile, digital policy experts have also cautioned against rushed legislation, highlighting legal challenges around age verification and potential conflicts with India’s Digital Personal Data Protection Act, particularly restrictions on processing children’s data.
Under-16 social media ban: The global state of play
Australia’s law, which came into force last month, is the first of its kind globally. It bars children under 16 from creating or maintaining accounts on major platforms and places the responsibility for enforcement on social media companies, not parents or children. Notably, social media companies face heavy fines for repeated violations.
This debate is also playing out in other democracies. For context, the United Kingdom is weighing an Australia-style social media ban for under-16s, with the country’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer saying “no option is off the table”, including curbs on addictive features such as infinite scrolling and streaks.
If Andhra Pradesh moves ahead, it would become the first Indian state to formally attempt such restrictions at a time when courts, governments, and regulators across the world are grappling with the growing impact of social media on children’s safety, mental health, and online behaviour.
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